Rowing Canoes
by copperpots'n'pans
Summary: Bella loved her simple frontier life until it was abruptly ripped from her. Now she's being offered as an Indian man's wife to keep peace between two tribes.
1. No Place Like Home

**Hi! I decided to start another story. I hope you like it!**

**Enjoy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.**

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Isabella Swan was a good girl. There simply was no other way to describe her. She helped her mother with the chores, and she always made sure her father had a warm dinner to come home to. But most importantly, she obeyed her parents without question, because she loved and trusted them.

Charles and Renee Swan were most likely the proudest parents this side of the Mississippi. They doted on their only daughter. They only wished the best for their daughter; that was why they had moved to Oregon, in the hope of striking gold and securing Isabella a good place in society.

The small family lived on a small farm just outside of the Portland post. Charles worked on the farm and took care of the animals most days. On Saturdays, Charles would go to the local mine and work for many hours, in the hopes of finding gold, so far, with no luck. Renee often spent her days doing housework, cooking and cleaning, and shopping at the market for things that they couldn't buy.

Isabella, too, did her part. She helped her father milk their only cow, and she helped her mother bake fresh bread. About once a week, a group of girls from the church would go down to the shore and attempt to catch clams. Isabella loved accompanying these girls, despite her bad luck at actually catching anything. Oftentimes, Isabella would wander from the group, as was her nature, and would collect the shiny shells that had washed up along the shore.

Her mother never quite understood Isabella's fascination with the shells, but then again, she never really understood Isabella.

Most of the time, Isabella preferred her own company to that of others. She liked to read and help her parents and that was about it.

It could be said that Isabella's most admirable quality was not that she was pretty, nice, sweet, or any of those other nonsensical things. It was that she was _adaptable_. Isabella seemed to roll with whatever the wind threw at her. She never questioned her elders, she just went with what she was told.

This quality may have well saved her life, early in her seventeenth year.

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The morning started like many had before it. Isabella rose with the sun, donned her simple gingham dress, tied her dusty brown apron, and went to collect the chicken eggs. The chickens were not surprised to see Isabella, and merely clucked in unhappiness while she took their eggs.

When Isabella returned to her home, her mother was making breakfast: sausage and eggs left over from yesterday. Biscuits were also baking in the fire.

Isabella deposited the fresh eggs into a woven basket on the table. "Would you like me to help with anything, mother?" she asked in her pleasant, soft voice.

Renee wordlessly pushed over a bowl of dough for Isabella to begin kneading.

That was how her father found them some time later. Charles ate his breakfast at the table while he discussed his plans for the day with the rest of his family.

"I think I might head on out to the mine today. I didn't make it out last Saturday. And if I have enough time, I might stop by the General Store. We've been needing a few things."

Renee nodded in agreement, "Could you pick up some new cloth, maybe silk or muslin? Bella's starting to get too tall for her dresses. Her work dresses can just be let down, but her party dresses will just have to be remade."

Bella started when she heard her name. She didn't often get new clothing and so she was not about to argue with her parents. They mostly lived off the land, so they had the extra money for situations like this.

Bella molded the dough into the proper pan and handed it to her mother to put in the fire.

"I'm going to go read for a while." she announced.

Her parents nodded in acknowledgment and Bella swished out of the room.

Bella's room was her favorite room in the house. There wasn't anything particularly extraordinary about it. It had wooden floors like the rest of the house, with a small window off to the side. Bella's bed was wooden, as well, with a floral quilt that her mother had spent months on. This was where Bella curled up with a book she had borrowed from the church and read for several hours.

She only looked up from her book at the occasional strange noise, such as her father's horse clopping down the lane as he left for the mine.

Bella loved to read, regardless of what it was. It was her own little escape from frontier life. She stayed curled up her bed until almost noon, when her mother knocked on the wall next to the opening of Bella's room

Bella looked up at her mother while she placed a string between the pages she was reading.

"I'm getting ready to clean the horse stalls. Would you mind doing the laundry?"

"I don't mind, just give me a second to put my boots back on. Do you want me to draw up water, or just take the clothes to the creek?"

Renee thought about the question for a moment. "The weather seems fine. You can just take it to the creek and bring it back to dry, that's probably going to be faster than carrying water up. Besides, there hasn't been trouble in months. Just don't tell you father I let you go down to the creek by yourself."

"Of course I won't, mother!" Bella loved going to the creek, especially without the supervision of her parents. They seemed to supervise the rest of her life, the creek was the one place where she was completely alone.

However, after the trouble that had occurred nearly two summers ago, her father had forbid her to go to the creek without him with her. Bella didn't see the need to fuss, just because a few Indians had been seen in the woods. Technically, they lived their first, and they didn't bother anyone. As far as Bella knew, the Indians had just walked around and then left. No harm done.

Charles had been spooked despite the fact that no harm befell anyone. After a few Indians had been caught and questioned, which had revealed nothing, Charles was wary of the woods and what undoubtedly lurked in them.

For Bella's safety and Charles's peace of mind, she was not allowed to do the laundry by herself in the creek anymore. Renee had to draw up water from the well and wash it in a large basin, usually reserved for bathing.

Renee letting Bella go wash the laundry by herself was a big step, one that Bella was not going to ruin by dilly-dallying. She hurried into her boots and took the large basket from her mother.

"Try to be done within the hour, Bella. We need to have it up to dry before dinner."

"I'll try my best, mother." Bella said, giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek.

And so Bella sat out the back entryway with the basket of laundry beneath her arms. The trek to the creek did not take long, perhaps fifteen minutes if Bella was counting correctly.

Once at the creek, she placed the basket on the creek bed and began washing the dresses, one at a time. Bella scrubbed them with lye soap and placed them back in the basket. This task didn't take very long and soon Bella found herself doing something completely childish, splashing in the creek.

The wind was slightly blowing, taking the edge off of the warm day. Bella splashed and giggled while birds chirped nearby. On the nearby bank, a friendly cat sat watching Bella. It seemed to peer past her, but the cat was always a bit odd. Maybe that's why it had taken to Bella so easily.

The trees were green, which was a nice change from the harsh winter that had previously encompassed the land. The very creek Bella was splashing in had been frozen solid. Her father had guessed that there was at least four inches of snow on most days.

Green fish nibbled at Bella's toes and she briefly tried grabbing one, thinking it would be a nice surprise for her parents. The fish darted out from her reach and Bella became distracted by the shiny rocks that littered the creek bed. She began picking them up and washing them off, the laundry long since forgotten.

Bella put the rocks in the pocket of her apron, while also collecting a few other things that caught her eye. She could decorate her bookshelf with the rocks.

What Bella did not notice was that on the other side of the creek, two men sat watching her. Bella did not know these men, but they had been watching her for quite some time.

The cat seemed to notice these men and let out a loud meow in warning before darting off.

Bella seemed to notice that something was unusual. "Hello?" she called. "Father, Mother, is that you?"

Bella didn't receive a response and decided it was time for her to leave the warm water. She placed the clean rocks in the basket with the damp laundry and lye soap. Bella had almost made it up the slippery bank when she felt a large hand on her arm.

Bella slowly turned around. Her father's worst fear and the thing he had been warning her about had just happened, without any warning. A large man who looked to belong to an Indian tribe had ahold of her arm and he wasn't giving any sign of letting go.

"Please let me go." Bella pleaded softly. She wasn't even sure if he spoke English or understood what she was saying.

"My mother's back at the house," she continued," we have animals, and bread, and bowls, and whatever you want."

The man peered into her eyes for a moment before snapping something in an unknown language to another man that Bella noticed was standing farther back.

They had a heated argument before the man began dragging Bella further up the bank.

"Do you understand English?" Bella tried again.

"I can understand you just fine." the man told her in a deep, gruff voice. "We're going to meet up with a larger group further downstream. Don't fight and you won't get hurt."

"Why are you taking me?!" Bella began crying softly. She didn't want to leave her parents and their nice, safe, warm cabin!

"It's none of your concern. Have you been married?"

Bella shook her head. She was very confused, why would it matter if she was married?

"Good, you will make a fine wife for someone in the village."

"I'm not ready to be a wife! And I have potential suitors here. Please don't make me go!" Bella whined.

The man ignored her and took the basket from her. He scattered the laundry and her carefully selected rocks before throwing the basket into the creek.

He marched her on without a word.

Bella knew almost nothing of the Indians, except that her father had said they were brutes and that they pillaged. Bella had never believed her father but now it seemed like a real concern.

They had only marched for a few minutes when they encountered a group of men with a similar complexion. They chattered in an unfamiliar language with the occasional glance in Bella's direction and laughter.

The man that had escorted her to the group lifted her onto a horse, in a very strange way. He put her on the horse with one leg on either side of the horse, without a saddle. Bella had never rode in that fashion and was even more surprised when the man climbed on behind her.

Certainly this was not appropriate behavior! Even if they were the barbarians her father had made them out to be, they wouldn't touch another man's intended wife, would they?

Bella hoped not. For the first time in her life, she was truly and undeniably terrified. She had no way to know what was going to happen to her parents. Would they look for her? Bella hoped so. She didn't want to live with these foreign people. And she especially didn't want to marry one of them.

She continued crying softly while the man behind her talked with some of the other men.

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They rode for hours, never stopping for anything. Bella had long since grown tired of crying and was now sitting silently. Her head ached and her nose was stuffed up. She occasionally sniffled, which was greatly annoying the man behind her.

The party never once encountered a single white man. They rode through thick foliage and shrubbery. The sun beat down against Bella's pale head, and she was positive her skin would be burnt before nightfall due to her lack of hat or bonnet.

This ordeal was one that Bella had never anticipated being in.

"Sit still." the man snapped after Bella fidgeted around a bit. There was no escaping this man, Bella had quickly realized. He was much larger than her and looked as if he could easily take her down as well as outrun her. So Bella sat back and took in her surroundings. The familiar maple trees and slowly turned into pine and fir trees.

They hadn't run across any settlements and Bella had mixed feelings about that. She was glad she hadn't been handed off to anyone else, because the man had kept his word, he hadn't hurt her. But, on the other hand, there hadn't been anyone that could help her.

All too soon, they stopped riding and Bella was roughly removed from the horse and deposited on the ground, getting her only dress dirty.

"We're making camp for the night." the man told her. "You can go use the bathroom over by the stream. Don't try to run off. It won't be pretty."

Bella nodded and ran off to do her business. It would be pointless for her to try to run. Bella had no idea where she was, she would be lost before she even made it out of their sight.

She made her way back to the man and stood by his side while he took some stuff out of a buckskin bag.

He pointed her towards the camp fire, where other men were roasting some meat. They gave some to her and laughed when she wrinkled her nose at the taste. The man quickly tired of their antics and addressed Bella again.

"You'll sleep here." he said, pointing at a mat, lying on the ground. "I'll sleep next to you so that no one bothers you. Lay down." he commanded and Bella instantly obeyed.

She laid on the bumpy ground with only the mat for cushioning and was grateful that in this strange land, she had at least one kind of friend, despite that he had kidnapped her and was taking her off to be a bride to some unknown Indian.

Slowly Bella drifted off, listening to the man's breathing and the crickets that occasionally chirped.

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	2. Crazy is Just Around the Riverbend

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all of your lovely reviews! And for all of the follows/favorites! They all made my day. I took some creative liberties in this chapter so if some of the culture stuff isn't quite true, just bear with me.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine blah blah blah, I'm not making any money, _blah blah blah Vampire emergency blah blah blah_**

**Can anyone tell me what the italicized portion is referencing? Kudos to you if you can! :)**

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Bella was rudely woken before the sun had even thought about coming up. "It's time for us to leave." the man told her. He rolled up her sleeping mat and attached it to the back of the horse. "We should be back to the village by mid-day."

Bella went to do her business once again before she was lifted on to the horse for another day of riding. She noticed this time, the man merely walked beside the horse, he did not join her in riding and for that, she was glad. Bella's body ached from the hours of riding that had occurred during the previous day.

She was not accustomed to riding for hours, or really riding at all. Around the farm, back home, she only rode occasionally and never for more than an hour. The horse she was currently riding was well behaved and that made up for her lack of experience with the gentle beasts.

They rode through more thick green foliage, without any noise except for the occasional comment from one of the other men.

The feeling of fear still gripped Bella in its tight grasp. She had no idea what awaited her in the village. All that she could hope for was someone who spoke English, or better yet, a fur trader who could take her back to her parents.

A few more minutes passed before Bella broke the silence. "Are we almost there yet?" she asked quietly.

The man looked up in surprise before answering, "Perhaps another hour or so until we reach the village. Do you need to stop?"

"No." Bella replied. "I'm just not used to riding this much."

"My apologies. It was not our intention to make you uncomfortable. You need to be well rested for the marriage ceremony. We'll have to postpone it for a few days now, I'm afraid. The chief will not be happy."

"The chief?" Bella questioned. She was not entirely sure of the dynamics of Indian tribes, but she presumed he was the leader.

"The chief will be your husband. Don't worry, though. He's a nice guy." Bella scoffed in disbelief. A nice guy would not have young girls kidnapped from their homes to make them his wives. "I know that may be hard to believe," the man continued, "but he is fair to all of the villagers and I've never seen him mistreat a lady."

"Then why does he need me?" the desperation in Bella's voice leaked through and the man looked at her in concern.

"My tribe needs to provide a wife for the chief to strengthen ties between our villages. However, most of the women in our tribe are either married, too young, or related to Jacob." The man said this as if it were really that simple. As if kidnapping people and forcing them to become wives were commonplace. But then again, Bella supposed, it probably was normal for them.

"He'll be kind to you. And provided the fact that you don't try to run, you'll be in a great position."

This did not reassure Bella in the least and she ceased talking. The man, whose name she still did not know, seemed to sense her discomfort and remained silent as well.

Occasionally throughout the ride, the man would offer Bella bits of fruit which she declined. Her appetite had left her, and there was no sign of it returning in the near future.

Bella drifted in her thoughts. At least her parents were still alive. That was more than most could hope for after encountering a group such as this. The men seemed well behaved and Bella hoped their behavior was shared by all in the village.

All too soon Bella heard the sounds of a large camp nearby. She heard the children playing and of people singing, as well as the clatter of tools.

The men with her began chattering at once, discussing their homecoming, Bella presumed. She had no idea what language they were speaking, only that it wasn't English or French, both of which she was fluent in.

As they approached the village, they encountered a few small children who all stared at Bella as if she was some strange animal. One or two even began crying.

Bella tried to shrink herself into the horse as they rode closer. Obviously these people were not expecting her, and more importantly, were not welcoming of her.

When they reached the entrance to the village, a hush fell over nearly everyone. Women and men stopped what they were doing to stare at the entering group. Children ceased playing and ran to their mothers who ushered them inside of huts. A few men reached for weapons, which made Bella shudder in fear.

The eyes that peered upon Bella held obvious mistrust and she cringed in reaction. No one had ever not trusted Bella and it hurt her delicate feelings that these people automatically didn't like her when they didn't even know her.

Complete and utter silence descended upon the entire village, only to be broken by the man that stood at Bella's side. "Where's the chief?"

The crowd parted to reveal a man that was even taller than the one that had accompanied Bella to the village. His skin was dark red and his silky black hair was tied back behind his neck.

"Embry, I haven't seen you in a while." he greeted Embry.

"Times have been tough Jacob. You know that." Embry said, pulling Jacob into a half-hug.

Bella sat silently throughout the interaction. At last she had some names to go with the faces.

"That they have. I'm glad to see you in good health." Jacob glanced at Bella for the first time, as if he had been oblivious to the girl sitting on a horse. "Who is this?"

"We have brought you a bride, as a gesture of peace. We hope you will accept." Embry gestured to Bella as he spoke.

"I see." Jacob frowned. "Is she agreeable?"

Bella blinked in confusion. Did she actually have a choice or was this a trick?

"Of course she is! She hasn't struggled one bit. Plus, her parents were more than happy to trade her for one of our men to help on their land."

"You're lying!" Bella spit out. "My parents would never trade me for anything!"

The men merely looked at her for a moment before continuing their conversation.

"She was kept uninformed to ensure her cooperation." Embry explained.

"Of course, of course. Let's take this indoors." Jacob chirped something in the foreign language and then gestured for them to follow him into a long rectangular building.

Bella was lifted from the horse by Embry who retained a firm grasp on her arm as they walked through the village.

Slowly, people turned back to what they had been doing prior to the party's arrival.

The small group of three entered into the building one at a time and Bella was directed to sit on a small mat.

"What is your name?" Jacob asked her.

"It's Isabella, but most people just call me Bella." English was clearly not their first language and Bella didn't want to make it any harder for them.

"Okay Bella. Have you ever been married?"

"No. I told Embry that earlier."

"Have you ever had relations with a man?"

"Of course not!" Bella was surprised at the question. She would never break her vow to the church to remain chaste until marriage. And she was insulted that these strange men would think so low of her.

"I did not mean to offend, Bella. I must be sure you are not with another man's child before the wedding." Jacob said this as if it was a regular conversation that occurred every day.

"I would never do something like that with anyone other than my husband." Bella said softly. She didn't want to offend the seemingly nice man. Perhaps in his culture, such questions or even actions were common.

Bella certainly hoped not. Being married to someone she didn't know would be bad enough, being expected to _service_ other men would be unthinkable.

"That's good to know. Well, now that that's all settled, Embry, let's discuss dowry. I am willing to offer up two of my best men for the protection of your tribe, in trade for Bella."

Embry seemed to consider Jacob's offer for a minute or two. Bella felt panic envelop her once more. She didn't want to be married to this Jacob, but what would happen if Embry refused? Her parents obviously didn't want her if what Embry had said was true. Would she be turned out into the wilderness? Or forced to marry someone else?

Her fears were for nothing as Embry responded, "That seems fair to me. When will the wedding take place? She's had a couple of rough days. Riding and such."

Jacob took this into consideration as he replied, "Tomorrow evening at sunset. If you're agreeable, she can stay in the women's shelter. They will help prepare her for the ceremony and fit her with the necessary clothing."

"That is fine with me. I will escort her there."

"I expected no less from you." Jacob chuckled. Bella was baffled by their exchange but chalked it up to the cultural difference between them.

The men stood up so Bella stood as well. Embry grasped her arm again, but this time it was in a gentler manner. Less restraining and more guiding.

Bella followed the men outside, where others were still working, despite the sun nearly being gone. They walked in their small group to a slightly smaller hut.

Both men paused at the entrance Bella noticed. She stopped as well.

Jacob called out something in the foreign language and soon a pretty woman approached them.

"This is Bella. We will wed tomorrow, she is to stay here for the night and the women are to prepare her. Try to use the language of the pale faces. That is all she knows." Jacob told her in English.

The woman nodded in agreement while simultaneously taking Bella's hand. "I will see you tomorrow, Bella. May the moon bless you." With that Jacob and Embry both departed, leaving Bella with the unknown woman.

"This way Bella." she said, pulling Bella into the hut.

Inside the hut there were many women doing various tasks. Some were weaving baskets while others were making jewelry or braiding their hair.

The hut smelled of mint and something else Bella couldn't quite place, though she thought it might have been cinnamon.

The woman led Bella over to a woven mat, not unlike the one she slept on last night.

"We can sit here for a while." the woman said, sitting while she spoke. Bella sat as well, facing the woman.

"You can call me Emily. It's the English name I choose to use sometimes. Most of us go by our English names these days, to be honest. It's easier to communicate when traders stop by. Are you excited for tomorrow?" Emily asked.

"Not really. None of this was really my idea." Bella replied in a kind manner.

"Oh nonsense! You may not have chosen to be here but, trust me, you'll love it in no time. Besides you get to marry Jacob, which means you'll pretty much be the top of the totem pole so to speak. You won't have to worry about anything and you won't have to work if you don't want to."

"That's nice of you to say," Bella began, "but I'm sure I'll work just like the rest of you. I don't want special privileges." The last thing Bella wanted was for someone to dislike her because she was getting special treatment.

"I have a feeling you're going to fit in just fine here." Emily gestured to two women who entered the hut. "Those are Jacob's sisters, Rachel and Rebecca. Rachel! Rebecca! Over here!"

The women walked in sync over to the mat and sat quietly. It seemed that everyone moved in stealth mode around here. Bella was going to have to learn to walk quieter if she really wanted to fit in.

"This is Bella, she's the woman Jacob's going to marry." Emily explained.

"Is that so?" the shorter of the women asked in a fashion that reminded Bella of the minister's wife back home. Old Mrs. Smith always seemed like she was perpetually questioning others' credibility. It always drove Bella nuts.

"Yes! Jacob told me to watch her in here and to prepare her for the wedding. You two can help if you want." Emily's friendly tone appeared to have won over the taller of the two who smiled back at them.

"That sounds wonderful. Since we're going to be sisters soon, we should spend at least a little time together. Right Rebecca?" Rachel asked in a tone that implied the only answer was yes.

"Sure." Rebecca's response was short and clipped in a way that made it perfectly clear that it was not fine at all.

"Your hair needs to be braided." Emily stated as she moved to sit behind Bella. Rachel mirrored Emily's position behind Bella and the two women reached for her hair.

Bella tensed as she felt their hands on her head, but relaxed as several uneventful minutes had passed.

Rebecca sat silently, Bella noticed, not saying a word or making a move. Though it was not her priority to please these strange people, Bella felt a bit disgruntled that this one, whom it seemed was destined to be her sister-in-law, hated her for no apparent reason.

After a few more minutes of uneventful braiding had passed, Bella spoke on her own. "Your hair looks pretty." she said to Rebecca. Maybe if she reached out first, Rebecca would warm to her.

Bella's words, however, seemed to have the opposite effect. Rebecca stood up quickly and marched out of the hut without a word.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked with tears stinging her eyes.

"No! Of course not." The other women comforted Bella. "She's just mad that you're not being rude to us all. She wants to hate you and it's not working out how she wanted it to." Emily continued.

Bella sat in silence until the other women left her. It didn't make sense that someone would hate her for being nice. Being nice was all that Bella had ever known.

As she lay down for the night, Bella solemnly swore that she would not let Rebecca or anyone else make her new life unnecessarily difficult.

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**Thanks for sticking it out to the end! What did everyone think?! Also if anyone actually reads this (Hi!) would you be so kind as to check out my other work? It's in the Supernatural-verse so if that's not your thing, that's cool too, but if you happen to be a fan, I'm just saying it would be pretty cool if you could check it out.**

**Also, I'm looking for some ideas for some one-shots, so if anyone has some, just PM me!**

**Have a great insert time of day here!  
**


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